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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26673937">Nightingale</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/'>Anonymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Food Fantasy (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, brief mentions of death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 13:08:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>777</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26673937</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>My father, he killed me<br/>My mother, she ate me<br/>But the witch took pity on me</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Anonymous</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Nightingale</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Listen I had a dream that I guess was trying to explain why Soufflé was a nightingale of all things for the fairytale event and it was sweet enough that I wanted to write it down<br/>Apparently my subconscious took a page out of The Juniper Tree</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Soufflé could've sworn he'd died. He'd heard the sound of his own neck breaking, felt the blood pooling in his mouth, seen his world gone dark— And yet here he was, alive and breathing in front of an unfamiliar woman. Something didn't feel quite the same though. He quickly checked himself for a pulse– still there– so he's probably not a ghost. The woman watched with amusement, stifling a giggle.</p><p>     "You seem confused."</p><p>     "I... What happened to me? I thought... he killed me..." He shuddered at the thought of that horrible excuse of a father. Using food as bait like that when he was starving... "How... did I survive?" The woman shook her head, a faint trace of sadness in her eyes.</p><p>     "You didn't. I just brought you back." Brought him back? Is that why he feels off? He looked down at his hands, seeing no difference from what they've always looked like. He has... so many questions right now. Might as well start with the biggest.</p><p>     "Why?"</p><p>     "Hm?"</p><p>     "Why... did you bring me back?" The woman only shrugged.</p><p>     "Honestly? I don't know. I suppose I just felt bad for you. Truth be told, I wasn't supposed to do that at all." She twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she spoke. "I really don't know what compelled me to save you. Perhaps we knew each other in another life." Soufflé averted his eyes, now feeling awkward.</p><p>     "So... what do I do now?" The woman rose and rested her parasol on her shoulder.</p><p>     "I brought you back as a bird, dummy. Do whatever you want. Go wherever you want. No one can stop you." Concern formed on her face as he made no effort to move.</p><p>     "Well? What are you waiting for? Live the life you want." Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed the bottom of her dress. She was about to kick him off when she realized he was crying.</p><p>     "I... can't... Please, I-I don't think I can survive on my own! I've never- I've never even had a chance to think about what I want! I've just been trying to survive every day! I can't- I can't...!" While she was annoyed at the tears and snot getting all over her clothes, she couldn't help but take pity on Soufflé. Something about him felt so familiar. Familiar... That gave her an idea. She crouched down in front of Soufflé, brushing his bangs out of his eye.</p><p>     "Hey. Deep breaths. It's alright." Reluctantly, she pulled him into a hug, keeping it loose enough for him to escape from if he needed to. She did her best to ignore the feeling of snot on her neck as he clung onto her, sobbing. This is fine. She wasn't exactly good at comforting people, but she tried. She stayed there on the ground with him, doing her best to comfort him until his tears finally stopped. She waited a bit longer after that to make sure he had really calmed down before finally pulling away. He looked like a mess, eyes puffy and pink and face covered in snot, but he looked much better. Might as well make her offer now.</p><p>     "If you really have nowhere else to go, you can come with me." The way his face immediately lit up was absolutely precious. She held up a finger before he could get too excited. "I do have a few conditions though. I can offer you a home, food, and anything else you need. For the most part, you can do whatever you want. But in exchange, I want you to be my familiar. You help me out with spells, and I'll consider that your payment. And... this is unrelated, but I'd appreciate if you could bring me tea every day." Soufflé was practically beaming by the time she finished.</p><p>     "Is that all? Even someone as useless as me can do that!" She really hadn't expected him to accept so easily. "I promise I'll do my best, Miss... um, what's your name?"</p><p>     "Fruit Tart."</p><p>     "Miss Fruit Tart!" Fruit Tart thought for a moment before getting back on her feet.</p><p>     "Hey... Let's keep how we met a secret, alright? I'll be in hot water if anyone finds out I've been raising the dead. So if anyone asks, you've always been a nightingale, and... let's just say I raised you." Fruit Tart couldn't quite pinpoint the emotion on Souffle's face, but his grip on her hand tightened just slightly.</p><p>     "So... you're my mom now?"</p><p>     "I suppose."</p><p>     "...Does that mean we can kill my real parents?"</p><p>     "We can do that later. Right now, I wanna brag to the coven about you!"</p>
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